Your Character's Name: Robert Winston
Time is a funny thing. I remember a drunken Curator talking about this book that he found in his museum that said time is relative. I can believe it. You can be having a great time and the hours fly away. Stare down the blued steel of a very well maintained pistol, it slows to a crawl.
Officer Matthews’ eyes were just this side of manic. I guess my escape with that burned out technology ten years ago made him look bad. Given the current circumstances, I feel terrible about that.
I saw his finger tighten, then an instant later an arrow appear in his neck. A raw scream echoed through the courtyard as a dozen or more Raiders poured in. I looked at Rio, he nodded. We turned and took down the two stunned guards closest to us and ran like hell.
“Get them! They killed Spike! We’ll roast their corpses and pick our teeth with their bones!”
We turned a corner and I chanced a look behind us. The charge was lead by a large man wearing a leather boot for a hat. He was pointed right at us.
“Shut up, Rio. He was going hurt Claire. I did what I had to.”
“Good job, man.”
“Hey, we should thank ‘em. They killed Matthews for us. Now shut up and run.”
We did. The rest of our group was camped several blocks away. I figured a double cross might be in store. No need for everyone to slip their heads in the noose. We ran in hot, hoping they listened to me when I said not to unpack anything.
“Come on, no time. Grab everything and run. We’ve got Raiders hot on our asses.”
“Raiders?” Claire sounded puzzled, but I saw her grabbing her pack.
“Yeah, the crazy bastards rushed MPD headquarters.”
“Why would they do that? Even they know that’s death sentence.” Ian steered Bordeaux out into the street with the rest of us, she looked like she didn’t know where she was.
“They was looking for us, man,” Rio cocked a thumb at me. “Apparently, they be mad at Robert for killing their homeboy back at that busted up store.”
“Shit.” Ian looked at me. “They must’ve liked him.”
“Don’t care. Let’s move faster. With luck they’ll lose interest when they see something shiny.”
By the time we found someplace to hold up, none of us had the energy left for a fight. I kept the first watch, but the only cries of pursuit were a ways away. I didn’t feel safe, it’s never safe, but the immediate danger was passed.
I turned to the meager fire we started behind heavy cover and found Claire watching me. “You okay, kid?”
She nodded. “What about you?”
“I’ll live.” I pulled the stack of papers from my pack and handed them to her. “I didn’t read them.”
“Not even the diagrams for the water plant?”
I shook my head. “No. I wouldn’t make heads or tails of ‘em. Just hold on to them. Get some sleep. We’ll head up The 45 in the morning.”
She hesitated. “I know I hired you, but thank you. You could’ve been killed.”
I shrugged and patted her arm. “I could be killed walking out the door. It’s just another day in the wasteland, Claire. Goodnight.”
Time is a funny thing. I remember a drunken Curator talking about this book that he found in his museum that said time is relative. I can believe it. You can be having a great time and the hours fly away. Stare down the blued steel of a very well maintained pistol, it slows to a crawl.
Officer Matthews’ eyes were just this side of manic. I guess my escape with that burned out technology ten years ago made him look bad. Given the current circumstances, I feel terrible about that.
I saw his finger tighten, then an instant later an arrow appear in his neck. A raw scream echoed through the courtyard as a dozen or more Raiders poured in. I looked at Rio, he nodded. We turned and took down the two stunned guards closest to us and ran like hell.
“Get them! They killed Spike! We’ll roast their corpses and pick our teeth with their bones!”
We turned a corner and I chanced a look behind us. The charge was lead by a large man wearing a leather boot for a hat. He was pointed right at us.
“Dude, you had to kill that Raider at the store?”
“Shut up, Rio. He was going hurt Claire. I did what I had to.”
“Good job, man.”
“Hey, we should thank ‘em. They killed Matthews for us. Now shut up and run.”
We did. The rest of our group was camped several blocks away. I figured a double cross might be in store. No need for everyone to slip their heads in the noose. We ran in hot, hoping they listened to me when I said not to unpack anything.
“Come on, no time. Grab everything and run. We’ve got Raiders hot on our asses.”
“Raiders?” Claire sounded puzzled, but I saw her grabbing her pack.
“Yeah, the crazy bastards rushed MPD headquarters.”
“Why would they do that? Even they know that’s death sentence.” Ian steered Bordeaux out into the street with the rest of us, she looked like she didn’t know where she was.
“They was looking for us, man,” Rio cocked a thumb at me. “Apparently, they be mad at Robert for killing their homeboy back at that busted up store.”
“Shit.” Ian looked at me. “They must’ve liked him.”
“Don’t care. Let’s move faster. With luck they’ll lose interest when they see something shiny.”
By the time we found someplace to hold up, none of us had the energy left for a fight. I kept the first watch, but the only cries of pursuit were a ways away. I didn’t feel safe, it’s never safe, but the immediate danger was passed.
I turned to the meager fire we started behind heavy cover and found Claire watching me. “You okay, kid?”
She nodded. “What about you?”
“I’ll live.” I pulled the stack of papers from my pack and handed them to her. “I didn’t read them.”
“Not even the diagrams for the water plant?”
I shook my head. “No. I wouldn’t make heads or tails of ‘em. Just hold on to them. Get some sleep. We’ll head up The 45 in the morning.”
She hesitated. “I know I hired you, but thank you. You could’ve been killed.”
I shrugged and patted her arm. “I could be killed walking out the door. It’s just another day in the wasteland, Claire. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
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